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MERCADO STEPHANIE ALICIA
MILLER MEGAN ELIZABETH
MILLIONES ANASTASIA G
MORRIS REBECCA LAUREN
PARRISH JONAS MCLUIN
PENA DEVANNE E
PIETSCH CHRISTOPHER A
PINYAN MATTHEW D
POWERS NATHANIEL STEPHEN
READ LAURA
RYLAND RAYMOND J
STEPHENS JOSHUA ALLEN
STRAWN JOHN BARTON
WATKINS JUSTIN MCKINLEY
WILLIAMS JENNY LING
MERCADO STEPHANIE ALICIA
MILLER MEGAN ELIZABETH
MILLIONES ANASTASIA G
MORRIS REBECCA LAUREN
PARRISH JONAS MCLUIN
PENA DEVANNE E
PIETSCH CHRISTOPHER A
PINYAN MATTHEW D
POWERS NATHANIEL STEPHEN
READ LAURA
RYLAND RAYMOND J
STEPHENS JOSHUA ALLEN
STRAWN JOHN BARTON
WATKINS JUSTIN MCKINLEY
WILLIAMS JENNY LING
I think of design thinking as a process that uses all of the information and constraints to assemble an appropriate, if not the best, solution to a challenge. Using research and ideation, one can reformulate a basic understanding of the issue into a novel comprehension. Then one can then take this structured matrix of information and creatively postulate new applications from the foundation of the original material. Design thinking is the way one travels from the initial problem to the best solution.
While I understand that the merger of design degrees and those of business may create new opportunities and give the holders of these degrees an advantage, I do not think that this is necessary to all companies. Good designers should be on board and in close ties with the direction of the company and its products, but I think that companies can still be successful without CEOs holding a design degree. Businesses still need good finance and organization and a CEO needs to have a good business mind. I think that it would be difficult to successfully merge all of the desired traits into one individual. Even of one did, then the conflicting opinions that drive successful design would be lost. A better approach would be to advertise courses designed for CEOs and business executives such as those offered at Stanford?s MBA program to make them more aware of the need for good design in their products. Carnegie Mellon Dean Kenneth Dunn, as interviewed in the August 2005 Business Week article, states that ?Innovation is critical in management. You have to innovate to compete and survive.? Once the decision makers know of this need, then they can begin to hire designers who are aligned with the interest and direction of the company. If it is to be a team of designers, then perhaps one not so aligned would be offer challenge. For this to be successful, a close association is a must; the chief designer should have a place on the board of directors where his or her ideas are both visible and weighted equally to business plans. Communication between designers and the rest of the company officials is necessary, as well as the chief officials recognizing the value of designers have in making the company?s products meet needs, be more customer friendly, and marketable.
Business executives need to recognize good design, but a specialist in design on the board of directors whose word is weighted similarly to the other critical decisions made may be a better option than a jack-of-all-trades. The company that responds most directly to the communicated needs of its customers will be the most successful.
Posted by Nathaniel Powers on April 01, 2008 at 03:02 PM EDT #
Design thinking is the application of experience, reason and intuition through sensory skills that results in the production of innovative ideas and principled decisions. It provides a map for disciplined thought and critical action. The thought process requires an observant mind and an understanding of the designer himself and the environment around him; including people, nature and other influential factors.
As McMullin states in his letter to the Apple Directors, design relates to more than ?just style.? The perception of designers tends to rely on aesthetics and fails to acknowledge the intensity of thought that goes into their work. It is usually the design thinking process that merits more recognition than the final product. Because design thinking provides a broad base of life concepts and principles, designers hold the ability to operate many functions within the business world, especially for companies like Apple that depend on strong visual understanding for their products.
In lecture fourteen, we were taught that it is crucial to ?engage business as design thought.? The core concepts outlined in the lecture are great tools that most likely parallel that of a MBA?s core understanding. As Brandon Shauer says, ?I?ve heard an MBA called a degree in common sense and I can?t necessarily argue with that? Isn?t that what we are learning? Most of what I have experienced in design thinking is applying my knowledge and common sense (at least to me) to higher level thinking. As long as the business portion is included in the study of design thinking, designers will be able to use their abilities to surpass the CEO?s of yesterday companies and create new environments for companies to function.
In some instances, designers may not work well as CEO?s because their thinking is too forward for the environment they are in, but this does not mean they are not cut out for the job; it just means that the company is not ready for innovation. I found Brandon Shauer?s comments applicable, but the problems he presented are easily solved if a designer?s knowledge of design thinking and business is studied and practiced. An inherent ability for either discipline cannot be the driving source of success. There must be a level of experience. He states: ?I think it gets reinforced by some people in the design community who make the leap from the fact that ?I identify as a designer, and therefore I am a design thinker, and I can make these great strategic contributions if they?d only let me?so that?s one of the pitfalls of design thinking ? that sense of designer entitlement that ?I am an amazing business strategist because I?m automatically a design thinker.?? This attitude is not necessarily true for all designers.
I think that designers are qualified to run companies if they become disciplined in business studies along with design. With this knowledge, their success in a business relies on the motives of the company. In an environment like Apple, a designer?s presence is crucial, but in a setting where the business is not looking to think ?outside the box,? a designer is useless. Some designers choose to be followers and execute the decisions, but others know it is best to lead. These determined leaders and great thinkers should head companies who are looking to make great leaps in not only the money they are making, but the products and ideas they are generating.
Posted by Ana Milliones on April 04, 2008 at 12:10 PM EDT #